[IHTTMBW] Chapter 38

Honestly, it was probably more that I enjoyed napping with him than it was about being effective in coaxing him. 

So, while I was pouting to the fullest, Euphil added, 

“You can still come to play but don’t nap with me. From now on, sleep on your own.” 

“Why! I want to nap with you!” 

“You’re ten now. It’s time to learn how to sleep by yourself.” 

“Ugh... but no one else tells me to sleep alone.” 

It wasn’t that I completely didn’t understand. After all, Euphil was just entering puberty. Having a little girl constantly asking to nap with him must have been annoying. And it was true that I needed to learn how to sleep alone now that I was ten. 

But my heart was still unsatisfied, so I continued to grumble at him. 

Gelbart, who had been watching our playful exchange with amusement, looked between the scholar from the Academy and the King, then turned to me. 

“What do you think? Does the Princess want to go to the Academy?” 

With others around, he was addressing me formally. Because of Gelbart’s efforts and the fact that Euphil, who had become Gelbart’s only apprentice, was always fussing over me, the nobles had naturally begun treating me like a princess. Everyone except the King. 

But who was I? Lately, rumours have been circulating in the palace that a young angel was wandering around. 

The rumour was about a child with silver hair who appeared when the weather was clear, fluttering about in a dress and smiling with purple eyes. 

Of course, they were talking about me. 

When I tilted my head and asked back, “The Academy?” Gelbart, feeling endlessly pleased, nodded. The scholar from the Academy also blushed and clasped his hands together tightly. Euphil quickly turned my head to avoid the scholar’s earnest gaze. 

“They say a ten-year-old genius has appeared, and it’s causing a huge stir.” 

“Is it fun there?” 

“No.” 

Euphil replied flatly as if making a firm decision. He then began reciting the kingdom’s epic history from the very beginning, from the myth of creation to the long, complicated epic that preceded the kingdom’s founding. The scholar from the Academy widened his eyes in shock. 

Without care, Euphil recited more of the epic and then told me... 

“Learn this instead. Don’t go.”   And like a lullaby, I nodded halfway, lulled by his words.   The scholar from the Academy hung his head in despair, realising that neither of us seemed willing to go to the Academy.   ‘Should I go or not?’   I was actually contemplating it. If I went to the Academy, perhaps I could somehow survive, even if Euphil Raize were to become a tyrant.   But every time I showed signs of considering it, Euphil would recite ancient historical epics, making me hesitate to enjoy such thoughts.   “We don’t only teach those things!”   The scholar from the Academy waved his hands frantically.   ‘Really?’   I looked at Euphil doubtfully, but his response was firm.   “But they teach that too.”   "…Yes…"   “Hmph, boring.”   In the end, Euphil made me say that it was boring, and only then did he smirk in victory, confident that no one could change my mind now.   “Then, how about bringing both of you?”   “Absolutely not!”   This time, it was the King who firmly objected. It was already irritating enough with one of us going, let alone both gaining fame. Impossible.   Having suffered his third defeat, the scholar from the Academy bowed his head low.   “Then how about the first and second princes?”   The King asked cautiously.   The scholar glanced around nervously before answering, “I shall take my leave now.”   It was a clear refusal. 

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“Hahaha! That was satisfying!”  

“The king’s expression was priceless.”  

“Unbelievable.”  

The audience had ended, and it was time for the banquet.  

The meal started with a stew made from tender veal, followed by grilled lamb drizzled with a sweet raspberry sauce, beautifully presented on a dish.  

The asparagus and chickpea salad was garnished with smoked wild boar, and, best of all, a variety of tarts, my favourite, were served.  

‘Myrthi, let’s just walk the path of desserts.’  

Lately, this has been my mantra during meals. Do you know the best thing about reincarnation? No matter how much I ate, I wouldn’t gain weight.  

No matter how much I ate, my face remained radiant, my hair had a lustrous sheen, and my lips maintained a rosy hue. What a blessing!  

Having lived in a world where people would make deals with devils if it meant they could eat without gaining weight, this was a dream come true for me!  

At this point, even if I were to be beheaded by a tyrant, I was fully prepared to eat without regret until I turned nineteen.  

So, while Grandpa Gelbart and Euphil were critiquing the King’s rotten expression, all I could muster was a muffled ‘unbelievable’ because my cheeks were full of tart.  

The tart, filled with sugar-glazed pears and strawberries, surrounded by a soft, sweet custard, was simply heavenly.